


Only Fools Fall

by alek_reads_stuff, PannaNat



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: College AU, M/M, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, action set in venice and they both attend Ca'Foscari, at least what a confused Pole with an access to google imagines modern italy to be, because how else would they be i mean come on, bi ezio, ezio is an economics major who is much more interested in parkour than economics, gay leo, jealous ezio, leo is a robotics major who is also a painter who is interested in pretty much anything, maria auditore ships them, misuse of italian, modern italy, more tags to come later probably, no one dies so no one has to become an assassin, or rather university au because this is europe damn it, slight canon pararells, warning for maybe gay slur-ish words, which are uttered exclusively by leonardo @himself in an affectionate way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-20 06:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14889083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alek_reads_stuff/pseuds/alek_reads_stuff, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PannaNat/pseuds/PannaNat
Summary: Leonardo thought  combining painting for a living and doing a second degree at the same time was a good idea. Ezio thought he was straight.People are wrong sometimes.Their friendship develops smoothly and Leo is fine with having a slight crush on his very straight friend.Ezio is also fine with how the things are. Until the status quo is threatened, that is. Fortunately, his threatening form scares away all those willing twinks who would love to get a piece of his best friend.Enter Salai, a very... passionate young man who tries to claim Leonardo for himself, and is not very impressed or discouraged by Ezio's  murderous glare.Is Ezio being homophobic, or is this sudden feeling of anger something more akin to jealousy?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Phew. Like I mentioned in the tags, the only knowledge i have of italian educational system comes from google. If there's anyone more knowledgeable on the topic, i'd be glad to consult them!
> 
> I also don't have a beta because  
> 1) I don't really write and this is my first longer fic so i have no one who'd check it :c  
> 2) The only person i know who is into this very. old ship is my girlfriend who, with all the love and respect, knows English less than I do. 
> 
> so yeah. sorry for the mistakes : <

After getting hit directly in the head with the basketball, Leonardo knew - he’s going to hate PE.

Why did he even have to do PE? It wasn’t a requirement in the Accademia D’Arte back in Florence. But he’s not in Florence now, is he? He’s in weird, stinky Venice, getting shot. In the head. By a basketball. After the initial burst of frustration inflicted by the sudden pain, Leonardo scrambled back into a vertical position and opened his mouth to assure everyone that he was okay. He was stopped by a sudden bout of shouts coming from a boy, who Leo assumed, was the one who hit him - considering the fact that his shout was comprised of a line of apologetic

“ _scusami!!! sucamiscusamiscusamiscusami_ ”

“It’s fine, _non fa niente_ ” Leo replied, rubbing his forehead. It did hurt quite a bit, but he was fine. Well, he thought so until he made a step and fell down.

“Ezio, take the boy and help him up, and sit him on the bench.” The teacher said, and rubbed her temples. She sighed.

“Now the teams are uneven. You know what? You’re both benched”

Leo let himself be lead by the larger boy, uh… a quite larger boy, what are people feeding their kids these days? He knew it was ridiculous, they’re all adults and he was just what. Six year older than most other second year students? Having already earned his master’s diploma, but being surrounded by a bunch of 20 year olds felt like being around a bunch of babies. He sniffed, trying to mask the awkwardness he felt while thinking about how this would be a perfect intro to a meet-cute romantic comedy, and wished for another basketball to hit him in the head, and possibly make him faint.

He could at least escape potential embarrassment. He sighed. Stop being so gay for a second, Leo.

  
But in his defense, it was quite hard when 90 kilos of muscles and nice musky work out/expensive cologne smell was all but cradling him in his arms.

 

“Hey, you still there bello?” Leo’s head perked up at that, and he hazily noticed that they’re both seated on the bench

“Yeah, i just… just got a bit dizzy”. Ezio shifted uncomfortably. Leo smiled encouragingly. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up about it! Stuff like that happens when you’re playing. But I admit, you don’t hold back with your throws. Wish you picked me for your team.”  
“Hah. Mi dispiace. You just didn’t seem very good at basketball. No offence.”  
“Non taken. I prefer yoga over team sports.” Ezio raised an eyebrow. Yeah. Bold move Leo, now mr. hunky straighty straight masculine demigod probably knows that you're a big gay poodle who also prefers sucking d-  
“What are you studying?” Ezio interrupted his thought process. That may be for the best. “Oh, I’m studying robotics! But I already graduated Accademia D’Arte and I’m looking to broaden my horizons. And robotics is so interesting! Everything is interesting, and life is way too short for all the things I’d like to study. I take a lot of electives though” In his ramble, Leonardo noticed Ezio’s face fell. He blushed. “Ah, yes, sorry, what are you studying?”  
“Economics” Ezio replied with little enthusiasm. “Not really interesting. A family thing”  
Their small talk got interrupted by the teacher calling it a day, and asking Leo to stay a bit after class so she can take a look at his head.

before he could say anything, Ezio just bolted out of the court, with a hurried “Ciao!” in Leo’s general distance, and Leo was left alone on a bench, with a growing headache.

 

After he changed and tumbled out of the building, he heard a soft rhythmic thud of someone jogging up to him. He turned around to see no one else but the boy who almost killed him today. Okay, he didn’t, Leo just was  feeling a bit dramatic.  
“Hey man!” He caught up with Leo “I just thought” Ezio froze for a second, and then handed him a cool milky looking beverage he held in his hand “I can, I dunno, make it up to you? That I hit you so hard? So I bought you a milkshake.”  
Leo shuddered. The gesture was so sweet, he was kind of surprised this straight-jock looking fella was so kind to him, this… unmasculine you-won’t-be-able-to-relate-to-me-at-all obviously gay boy. That’s why it was so hard to say: “Sorry, Ezio, I’m… I’m vegan?“ It came out as almost a question, which he uttered almost wincing  
“Oh.” Ezio said. He furrowed his brows and pouted a little, which Leo had to admit, looked really cute.

“I didn’t catch your name?”  
“It’s Leonardo”  
“Oh. Leonardo!” Ezio tried his name against his lips, and Leo tried not blush. “Leonardo! Let me walk you home then!” He exclaimed with a grin.  
“You really don’t have to I…”  
“Friend, I insist. I caused you trouble, and I don’t want to stay in debt” Was that a hint of a smirk?  
“Bene, as you wish” Leonardo laughed “I guess it won’t hurt to have someone escort me” He glanced at his companion, and noticed he hasn’t changed from gym clothes. “Oh, you want to go back, and… change or something?” Did he run out to buy him that damned milkshake right after class? Leo felt a wave of warmth enveloping his heart at the thoughtfulness of the gesture.  
“No, it’s fine” Ezio chuckled “I don’t need a change of clothes, I live nearby and I'm done with classes for the day”

It actually turned out Ezio lived along the way to Leo’s flat, so he didn’t feel too guilty for making him walk few additional kilometers. They shared a pleasant small talk, Leo found out that Ezio is actually a first year student who decided he wanted to pass PE earlier, which as he said “would save him from paying for gym anyway”, so he was only 19!

Dio mio…

He also found that his father is a banker, his family is quite wealthy, and that he comes from Firence (which he noticed by his accent before anyway), so when he admitted he comes from Vinci, and went to the Academy in Florence, they exchanged their memories from the city; the bars, the clubs, the streets, and the music.  
“So Ezio! Why Venice? Why not Florence? UniFi is such a renowned University!”  
Ezio winced. “Well probably because mamma Auditore wanted her riot of a son somewhere far away from her” He noted with a chuckle.

  
Leo’s eyes grew wide. “AUDITORE? As in MARIA AUDITORE?” He almost jumped up and down from excitement.  
“You know… my mother?”  
“Yes!” Leo tried to stay collected “She used to come to my exhibitions! She even bought one of my paintings!” He was irrationally excited about this “The world is so small! What a great coincidence!”  
“So that painting in her study is yours? Porca Vacca! You’re good!”  
Leo beamed at him. “Thank you, that’s too kind!” He almost walked past his flat, because of all this excitement. He stopped abruptly.

“Guess that’s me. Thank you for walking me home Ezio. And look, I didn’t pass out!”

He knew he wasn’t going to, it was just a ball not a chandelier. His new friend was just too nice. He was quite surprised by the way Ezio was fussing about him, yet it wasn’t unwelcome. He didn’t have anyone to fuss over him anyway.

"Oh. Bye then." Ezio said, looking a bit uncomfortable, like he had something more to say but couldn't bring himself to do it.  
"I hope we meet again! Bye Ezio!" Leo exclaimed with the widest grin he could make, and did a little wave.

He ran upstairs feeling like today was a start of something new and exciting.

And Ezio stood there for a minute longer, as if frozen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to your mother Ezio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would have forgotten aah  
> i wanted to thank my girlfriend, cause while she's not writing, she's very much the co-creator of this fic, as she helps me come up with the ideas for the plot and she came up with a fanfic idea in the first place! And she's my main motivation for writing it!  
> And also her birthday is in few days so... treat it as an early present honey ; >
> 
> and thank everyone for commenting and kudos!

 

“WHO DID you saY YOU HIT RIGHT IN THE HEAD??????” Maria screamed to the phone. “Leaonardo! Leonardo Pierro??? Ragazzo mio! Tell me you apologised! You have no idea who he is!”

“Yes, I know madre. He’s… a painter or something?”

“Or something!” She repeated mockingly, “Ezio, he’s an immense talent! And not only a painter! He’s accomplished in fields of mechanics, architecture, mathematics, biology, and god knows what else! You should really befriend him. It would benefit you greatly”

“Mother, I will not befriend someone  _ just _ because they’re smart” Ezio replied with a hint of a whine. He’s not an opportunist. He won’t be friends with someone just because they’re useful. No way. 

“Not  _ just  _ because he’s smart ragazzo, but he could be a good influence over you. But well, Ezio. A change of… atmosphere will do you good. That’s why we sent you to Venezia in the first place, hmm? Maybe you should find some...friends?”   
“I have friends!”

“ _ Friends, _ Ezio. Not one night stands.”

“Mother!” He sounded absolutely shocked and appalled. Not only at the implication that he doesn’t have friends, which…  _ may _ be true, but he  _ does _ keep in contact with all the girls he’s been sleeping with, and is on friendly terms with most of them. So that should be enough, right?

He just doesn’t like his mother poking her nose into his love life. Or relationships in general.

“Shush. Anyway, this is the perfect coincidence, as I have an errand for you to run”

“An errand?”

“Yes. I send father’s watch to Leonardo, because there’s no one else I would trust to repair it”

“This thing is broken? Again? What is even the use of that thing, it’s ancient!”

“Exactly. It’s a family heirloom and it should be treated with respect. Your grandfather used to wear it, and then your father, and apparently, you after him”

“Me? What about Federico? Or Claudia? Or Petruccio?” 

“I don’t know  _ tesoro.  _ I’m sure he has his reason. So, you are going to get it back from Leonardo. And keep it safe” Maria fell quiet for a second ” _ Don’t  _ lose it” She added sharply.”

“Okay, okay” His tone a bit defensive, what was wrong with her? It’s not like he would  _ actually  _ carry it around. 

“I’ll send you the number to Leonardo right away. Take care, caro mio”

“Ti vioglio bene mamma, ciao”

“Baci!” And she ended the call.

 

It wasn’t like Ezio minded having to contact Leonardo. He just minded his mother telling him to do it, that’s all. But thanks to her he actually got his number, which he wanted to do after he walked him home anyway, so it was not all bad.

Maybe mother was right. Maybe he did need some new friends. Or friends in general.

And Leonardo was cute. Well, no not in that way, he was just… dorky. And fun to talk to. Ezio himself wasn’t that much of a talker, so interacting with someone who never shuts up felt quite refreshing.  And true, he was easy on the eye, but that was not important. Ezio liked surrounding himself with pretty things, like cars, and clothes, and girls, but with girls it was different, of course. With a pretty friend, it would be like the other things. Yes. Like having a nice… garden. The point is, he wanted to meet with Leo again not because he was pretty (one would say unnaturally pretty for a guy), but because he  seemed nice. 

 

Before he could finish a thought, he got a text

 

_ “Hi Ezio” _

 

and then another

 

_ “It’s me Leonardo”  _ He held back an amused smile, and then the phone started beeping again, over and over.

 

_ “your mother called me and gave me your number” _

 

_ “she sad you can pick up the watch i’ve been fixing” _

 

_ “said” _

 

_ “im done with it” _

 

_ “when do you have time to pick it up???” _

 

_ “I mean i’m home most of the time when i m not attending classes” _

 

_ “painting and stuff” _

 

_ “you remember where i live?” _

 

_ “just text me that ur coming whenever” _

 

_ “haha sorry for the spam” _

 

Ezio smiled again, and let out an amused chuckle. This guy was amusing. What a dork. He replied with a quick:

 

_ “Howbout now?” _

 

He went to get his pants, but before he managed to turn around, he heard his phone beep again.

 

“sure1! im waiting then : DDDDDD “ The text said. 

 

Ezio quickly got his pants on and bolted out of the apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of i had a problem with setting on leonardo's last name, cause i couldn't just call him "from vinci", that's stupid. So I settled on his father's name, because he used to be known as leonardo di piero da vinci. and google says pierro is a legit italian name, so i'm gonna settle for that!
> 
> ragazzo mio- my boy  
> tesoro - treasure i think? term of endearment  
> caro mio- my darling  
> ti voglio bene - i love you (used for family. i think direct translation would be "I wish you well"? )  
> baci - kisses
> 
>  
> 
> BTW when i say leonardo is unnaturally pretty i mean it. i just found his autopotrait when he was young and damn it.   
> http://www.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN01294/AN01294027_001_l.jpg
> 
> that's a one pretty boy


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezio pays Leo a visit

 

Ezio tried to remember which one of those run-down tenements houses was Leonardo’s. There are so many of them huddled together, wall to wall, and they didn’t look like they were well maintained. Other than that, they were quite… charming. Seems like a good place for an artist to live in, he supposed.  Ezio called the flat, and Leo buzzed him in. He climbed up narrow stairs, up to the last floor, to find Leonardo already waiting for him at the door. 

 

“Benevuto amico mio!”

 

Ezio couldn’t help but smile at how ceremonial and enthusiastic he sounded with his greeting. 

 

“Ciao Leonardo” He wanted to go for a simple nod, but his host enveloped him in a hug, before he had a chance to protest. Not that he would of course. But that  _ was  _ a bit weird, they were barely acquaintances after all.  Or maybe it was just sweet, and he shouldn’t over analyse. 

 

He clapped his back lightly with his free hand, as the other one was occupied with-

oh, he would have forgotten. 

 

“I brought you this” Ezio said handing Leo a plastic cup. “A smoothie. This one is vegan.”

 

“Aaah you remembered! You really didn’t have to, I-” Ezio stopped him. 

 

“I know I didn’t, I just wanted to. So about that watch-”

 

“Aaaaah, sure! Come in, will you?” He ushered Ezio inside, and disappeared deeper into his studio apartment. 

 

He took his boots off with a huff, and taking advantage of Leo’s inattentiveness, took his time to take a look at his place. 

 

He stood in tiny dark hall a step, which was lower than the rest of the floor, and put down his boots next to a row of various pairs of shoes, which were neatly placed one next to the other. And that was probably the only neat thing about this apartment, Ezio thought emerging from behind a wall.

 

Not that it was filthy, no. It was just that everything was strewn about, various sketches, blueprints, blocks of canvases, boxes of paint, jars filled with tinted water, and paint brushes peeking out of them, ornate cups with about a hundred different types of pencils, and pieces of charcoal. Easels of several sizes were leaning against the wall, and a stack of paintings in varied stages of completion were haphazardly piled next to them. Other than this gigantic mess of art supplies, there was quite a large bed on a short platform which didn’t look store-bought - the wood looked a bit rough, and you could see it was hand-painted white. Perhaps Leonardo is also into carpentry? At this point, it wouldn’t surprise him much.

 

The sides of the platform were hollowed up, and filled with books, making quite an interesting shelf. If not the supplies, the amount of care and customization invested into this place made it look like a space occupied by an artist. 

 

His eyes wandered around, and he noticed a small kitchen complex at the edge of the room, which was separated from the rest main area by a sleek-looking countertop with three bar stools. 

 

Not orderly, his apartment, that’s true, but Ezio was still quite impressed. It looked quite modern and the decor and functionality were remarkable. How did he manage to afford that place? 

 

Ezio snapped around, startled, when Leonardo finally emerged from a tiny storage room with a small carefully wrapped package in his hands. 

 

“Here you go Ezio. I think it should work now, but be careful. I’ve never seen such a complex little thing! The mechanism inside, and the secret compartment, ooooh, they were so well integrated it was really difficult to work on one without compromising the other and-”

 

“The what?” That was a first. A secret compartment in that old watch? That piqued his interest. Was that why his father was fussing so much about it?

 

“The compartment? Oh you didn’t know it was there?” Leo thought for a bit, and looked a bit embarrassed. “I hope I didn’t disclose something I shouldn’t have, your mother seemed to know about it and i thought it was an important family heirloom and they wanted you to keep it so i thought you would… know... “ He unwrapped the watch, and pulled on a gear, then twisted, then pressed something and a little metal plate with weird engravings popped out.

 

“You see, there was some kind of code, I- I didn’t mean to pry. So I didn’t try to encode it, although, you know, i could, but signora Auditore didn’t ask me for it, so… maybe you should talk to her?” Oh no, he stressed him out.

 

Ezio patted his back. “Don’t worry friend, I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just some family thing, that’s all.  Father wanted me to have this watch, so I’m sure they didn’t have any secrets to hold back from me - I’ll ask mother about it later.” Leonardo still didn’t look convinced. “ Maybe they don’t know what it’s for too, and didn’t find it important enough to mention” His friend seemed to relax at that, and puffed out some air with relief. 

  
  


After that, they stood there for a moment, in what Ezio would classify as an awkward silence. Leonardo was smiling at him, as if expectantly. 

 

“Soo…” He looked around the room. “Art… was it?” 

 

Leo giggled, and then went into some speech about how painting is not enough for him and he wants to do so much more, and that he wants to improve the world, and that’s why he’s studying robotics now.

 

Ezio though, just realised how stupid and awkward his question was, but also - how amazing and passionate Leonardo was.  His embarrassment got the best of him, as he felt a sudden urge to flee. 

 

The thing is, Ezio was very smooth around women. He wasn’t always, but he had a lot of practice. He didn’t know exactly how to behave and what to say in a situation… like this. He decided it was time to leave.

 

“Oh Ezio, I’ve got to show you something!” he exclaimed with newfound enthusiasm, and grabbed his wrist. Ezio followed obediently, as Leo dragged him to a window. Surprised, he saw Leonardo climb out, and he grabbed his arm in brief panic to stop him. It was like a third floor! He could break his back, dio mio. 

Ezio knew he wasn’t one to talk as he used to leap between buildings much taller than that with his older brother for most of his teenage years. 

 

He missed his brother so much. 

But he suspected Leo’s fragile frame and questionable reflexes were not meant for scaling buildings. 

 

Leo just looked at him, questioning. And then he laughed.

 

“Calmo! There’s just a nice roof outside my window, I thought we could sit there for a bit.” He smiled adorably. 

“Oh” He now felt silly for his sudden concern. “Okay.”

Then he followed Leonardo outside the window frame, trying to make his leap through the window the most impressive and smooth move he could muster. Not that he tried to impress him or anything. 

 

He didn’t miss the way Leo glanced at him with interest though, which filled him with soft sense of satisfaction. 

 

“Ah. Where are my manners. I-I’ll just go and make us some tea” He muttered, leaving Ezio thinking of what to talk to him about once he’s back. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Benevuto - welcome  
> Calmo - be calm 
> 
> it's a short one because i've got my exams on university now and i've been writing this fic for like a week, very.... slowly....  
> i;'m just not the most patient person so i wanted to upload it as fast as i could!
> 
> if you enjoyed it at least a bit comment! Even something as short as "i liked it" makes my day!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Accademia D'Arte - Academy of fine arts, obviously  
> mi scusi - i'm sorry  
> non fa niente - no problem/it's fine  
> bello- surprisingly, according to google, the italian equivalent of "dude" (at least in roma and florence?) do italians just go around calling their friends "pretty"? Hell if i know, but i love it.  
> mi dispiace - i'm sorry  
> ciao - hi/bye  
> bene - well/fine  
> Porca Vacca - Holy cow! ( i looked for something like holy shit but that was too adorable to pass)
> 
> i know i set myself for heartbreak falling for a ship that's 8 years old, so please, double please. if you read it and liked it, please comment!


End file.
